From Mark's Desk

There’s a truth I’ve learned: The moment an agency starts operating above the people it serves, it loses the people it serves. I’ve watched that happen right here in Boone County. For several years now, I’ve seen the disconnect grow between our sheriff’s office and the public. The scanners went silent. Information became limited. People who were directly affected by criminal actions struggled to get updates or clarity in their own cases. And citizens who simply wanted to stay informed were left guessing, speculating, and interpreting whatever they could find online. This is where distrust takes root.

Law enforcement should operate with the public, not over them, not away from them, and certainly not behind a wall of silence. When the community can’t get answers, when victim cases linger, when there’s no periodic message telling residents what their sheriff’s office is doing, it creates a vacuum. And that vacuum fills with rumor, assumptions, and frustration. Transparency isn’t optional. It’s a responsibility.

I spent years working catastrophic events across the country managing people, coordinating operations, and resolving massive problems in chaotic environments.  One thing became clear: information flow is survival. When people know what’s happening, they can cooperate. They can stay safe. They can help. When they don’t, the system fractures.

In any healthy relationship between law enforcement and citizens, there has to be mutual respect and that respect is demonstrated through communication. Updating people doesn’t require revealing sensitive details or compromising investigations. It takes a few seconds. A simple post that says what type of incident officers are responding to, roughly where, and whether the community should avoid the area is enough to reassure the public, reduce panic, and build trust. And when there’s a manhunt or a dangerous situation, those quick updates might even lead to tips that save lives because people can look around their own neighborhoods and notice what doesn’t belong.

When law enforcement pulls away from the people, when it stops talking, stops updating, and stops working hand-in-hand with the community, it creates a divide. And divided systems do not protect citizens they isolate them.  I believe in accountability, transparency and in a sheriff’s office that keeps the public informed regularly, clearly, and respectfully. Because people deserve to know what’s happening in the place they call home not as gossip, but as fact.

There should never be a moment where anyone wonders if their sheriff’s office is operating above them. It should always operate beside them. Hand in hand. Open and honest. Present and engaged. A law enforcement agency that isolates itself weakens itself. However, when it communicates openly it strengthens the entire county. That’s the kind of relationship I believe Boone County deserves.